Multiple copy rack



July 3, 1934. B|ELE 1,965,404

MULTIPLE COPY RACK Filed July 14, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HARRYM. BIELE awkm ATTORNEY July 3, 1934. B|ELE 1,965,404

MULTIPLE COPY RACK Filed July l4, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HARRYM. BIELE jf n. @mxw ATTORNEY July 3, 1934. H. M. BIELE 1,965,404

MULTIPLE COPY RACK Filed July 14, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 JO L .12 .30

INVENTOR HARRY M BIELE BY u b? jwmw 71/, @uztm/ ATTORNEY Patented July3,1934

PATENT OFFICE MULTIPLE COPY RACK Harry M. 'Biele, Hollis, N.

Y., assignor to The Associated Press, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Appllcation July 14, 1932, Serial No. 622,398

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a multiple copy rack and more particularly toan arrangement for guiding and feeding paper from a number of differentsupply rolls into an automatic typewriting device.

Automatic telegraph printers are largely used by press associations indistributing news to their subscribers. For this purpose message blanksare not used, but instead a web of paper is fed into 10 the printer asrequired, from a roll of paper, the

paper feeding mechanism being operated by a transmitting operator. Suchprinting devices are expected to function perfectly without attention atthe receiving stations, except for that attention occasionally given bya copy boy as he collects the copy or replenishes the paper supply.Printers ordinarily are adapted to make but one copy of an incomingreport, and usually this is sufficient, but there are times when extracopies of the report may be required urgently, for example,

at election time.

A single sheet of paper will feed through such printers withoutdimculty, but when it is desired to make carbon copies, considerabletrouble is experienced in adjusting the printer so that the paper willfeed straight. This trouble is not serious with typewriting devices whensingle blanks are used, for the paper is started in proper alignmenteach time a new blank is inserted, but where a 3 web of paper is fedfrom a roll, the efiect of any tendency the paper may have to run towardeither end of the platen is cumulative, and in this case, before manyyards of paper are used, the paper will become jammed at one end of theplaten.

Further difficulties in making copies with an automatic printer arecaused by the paper being fed while the carriage is in motion inreturning to the beginning of a new line. In addition, the

line feed pawl in printer is caused to rotate the platen by a suddenshort stroke imparted by a cam or a magnet. For these reasons, in thepast, the use of tissue papers and the lighter carbons in making copieswas generally avoided owing to the difiiculty in keeping the sheets inalignment, and because the varying inertia of several sheets of paper ofdifierent weightscaused the sheets to slip longitudinally at times inrespect to each other, often making the under copies useless.

In order to surmount this difiiculty, it was necessary to use paper ofsubstantially the same weight for each copy. This had the efiect ofreducing the number of copies made, since the carbon sheets were of thesame thickness as the other sheets, and consequently the number ofcopies made was seldom more than two.

Accordingly, the object of this invention is the provision of a novelrack for holding a number of rolls of paper, the rack being providedwith means for guiding and feeding webs of paper from said rollsunderuniform tension into an automatic printing device.

A further object, is the provision of a paper rack which may be readilyincreased or decreased in capacity according to the number of copiesrequired.

Another object is the provision of certain novel arrangements of partswhereby paper may be fed uniformly from a number of rolls differing fromeach other in weight and balance.

Other objects will appear in the following description, given with theaid of the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is an end view of oneembodiment of this invention,. partly in section, the section beingtaken through l1 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one embodiment of this invention showingone of the paper rolls partly cut away as indicated by the section line2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, the section being takenthrough 33 of Fig. 1, showing two of the lower paper rolls in positionin the rack, and also the rear separator rollers. 35

Fig. 4 shows the slack bar and guide roller.

Fig. 5 shows the rack as arranged for two copies. Fig. 6 is an end viewshowing the rack as used when four copies are required.

Fig. 7 is a view of the rack rangement for five copies.

Referring to Fig. 2 of the drawings: Two parallel pieces of angle iron 2and 3 form the base of the present invention. At the rear of each pieceis secured upright members 4 or 5, each of which is provided with arecess 6 at the top for holding a roll spindle. A rod 35, Figs. 1 and 5,connects the base plates 2 and 3 and holds them firmly in place, while asimilar rod 36 secured between the upright members 4 and 5 serve tobrace this part of the structure.

Secured to each upright member, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, is a pair ofplates 12 which serve to support separator rollers '7 to 11 inclusive.Members 4 and 5 each carry a horizontal bar 13, recessed at each end at14 to provide bearings for paper rollers. At the forward part of thebase, a roller 16 having a wide flange at each end is supported bysuitable bearings in members 2 a d. 3.

showing the ar- 90 Ell Fig. 5 shows an arrangement suitable for makingtwo copies or an incoming press report. in this case two rolls oi whitepaper WRl and WR2 are provided with spindles which turn in recesses laand 15 at the ends or the horizontal bars 13.

A preferred form oi spindle is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of a woodenroller 18 provided at each end with metal pins 19 which turn in therecesses in the rack. A pin 20 extending through the roller near one endserves as a stop for the paper roll, while at the other end the roll isheld by a spring 22 in a slot 21 in the wooden roll.

Near the pin 19, the roller is grooved at 24, and in this groove a loopof leather 30 rides to serve as a brake. The loop is drawn against theroller by a suitable spring attached to the rack or to another brake.The brakes are adjusted so that they exert just suificient pressure onthe spindle to restrain the roll from turning except when the paper isdrawn from the roll by the printer.

A roll of carbon paper SCR having carbon on only one side is free torotate in the recesses 6 at the top of the upright members 4 and 5, thecarbon side of the paper in this instance being adjacent to WRl. Thecarbon paper is threaded between a pair of separator rollers, such asrollers 9 and 10 while the paper from W32 passes under roller 11. Thepaper then passes over the flanged guide roller 16 and then extendsdownward passing under a slack bar guide roller 25, as shown in Fig. land then upwards into the printer, PTR where it is fed from the underside of a platen in the usual manner. While the present invention issuitable for use in connection with any page typewriting machine, it isparticularly adapted to the well-known Teletype page printer, a machinewhich has been used for years by all large communication organizations,and which is so well described in U. S. Patent 1,6655%, issued April 16,1928 to H. L. Krum, that further description here is believed to beunnecessary.

The slack bar guide roller is made of a tube of aluminum, or other lightmetal and is provided with large flanges at its ends. The roller 25 isfreely movable on a slack bar 26 which is a metal rod of just suficientweight to draw the paper down from the various rolls. Links 27 supportedby cords 28 extending from the printer table serve to support the bar 26and the roller 25. Two copies may be made with the arrangement justdescribed, the original being on the paper from WR2.

The two copy rack in the form described is provided as permanent printerequipment. In the event that additional copies are necessary for somespecial occasion, then the two copy rack may be modified in thefollowing manner to meet such requirements:

In order to make three copies the roll SCR is removed from the recesses6 at the tops of 4 and 5, and a T-shaped extension consisting of upright members 3'7 (Fig. 1) to which are secured cross members 38provided at their extremities with recesses 39 and 40 is substitutedtherefor. A preferred method of securing this extension to the uprightmembers 4 and 5 is by means of a half lap joint indicated by 41 and 42of Fig. 1. In this case the extension member may be provided with a setpin which fits snugly into recess 6, the joints being further secured bymeans of ma-' chine screws 46, (Fig. 3).

With this arrangement a roll of tissue paper, TB. is placed so that itsspindle turns in notches 4.0; and a roll of thin carbon paper FCR havinga carbon deposit on both sides of the paper in notches 39. The paper isthreaded through the guide rollers as shown in Fig. 1. The top copy isWRZ in this instance, and the bottom copy is from WRl, the printing onTR being reversed, but it may be readily read in the usual mannerthrough the tissue paper.

Provision is made for four copies by the arrangement shown in Fig. 6..Secured to the upright members 4 and 5, in the same manner as justdescribed in connection with the three copy rack are two verticalmembers 50, each being.

provided with a cross-piece 51 having near its extremities notches 52and 53. A roll of carbon paper FCRl, having a carbon-deposit on bothsides is free to turn in notches 52, while notches 53 support a roll ofcarbon paper SCRl having carbon on but one side, the carbon side facingtoward WRl. Horizontal members 61 are secured to the uprights 50 somedistance above members 51. These members are each provided with recesses62 and 63 which support rolls of tissue paper TRl and TRZ respectively.A bar 65 secured to the members 50 is used to brace the structure. Thewebs of paper are threaded between the guide rollers as shown in Fig. 6or the drawings.

The structure just described may be modified to provide for five copiesby using a middle horizontal bar with recesses for three rolls as shownby Fig. l. The additional recess ll carries a roll or tissue paper TRIiwhile 53, in this instance, supports a roll of carbon paper FCR2 havinga carbondeposit on both sides. The drawing shows a method'of threadingthe paper through the guide rolls, after which it passes under the slackbar guide roller as shown in Fig.1.

Operation Assuming an apparatus is set up according to one of thearrangements described above, then as the paper is drawn into theprinter, the impact of each feeding operation will tend to lift roller25 so that it will be supported by the loop of paper as shown in Fig. 1,rather than by the slack bar. The weight of the roller, in mostinstances will Elli be sufiicient to overcome the slight friction of thebrakes and paper will be drawn from the roll until roller 25 again restson the slack bar. However, if for some reason one or more of the webstend to drag, such as might be occasioned by a roll having unbalancedwinding, then several feeding operations may take place before morepaper is drawn from the defective roll until the guide roller is drawnup against the slack bar when the combined weight of the slack bar andthe guide roller will be sufilcient to unwind more paper.

Occasionally, when through an oversight, a roll badly out of balance,having perhaps an elliptical cross-section, is placed in service, it mayresist the combined weights of the slack bar and guide roller until bothare drawn up a considerable distance. The guide roller, in a case likethis prevents the slack bar from slipping to either side and falling outof the loop of paper, and at the same time the guide roller holds thevarious webs l at a uniform length until the repeated jerks concentratedon the taut sheet by the printer line feed mechanism releases the faultyroll, and once the roll is free to move, the slack bar and guide rollerdraw down the paper again until the loop 3:

ings may be modified to suit individual needs. Usually brakes on thealternate rolls are sufiicient for most purposes. I

It will be seen from the foregoing that the braking mechanism andvarious guide rolls cooperate with the slack bar and its guide roller tokeep the various webs of paper in alignment at uniform tension, makingit possible to feed accurately a considerable number of webs of paperinto a printer.

It is further to be understood that this invention may be embodied invarious other forms of construction than that herein shown anddescribed, and except where specifically limited in the followingclaims, it is the applicants desire to claim the invention broadly.

I claim:

1. In a multiple copy rack, a base, upright members secured thereto, abracket for supporting rolls of paper fastened to said upright members,roll holding means at the top of said upright members, and an auxiliaryrack arranged to be interchangeable with said roll holding means.

2. In a device of the character described, a frame comprising uprightmembers for supporting a plurality of rolls of paper, a plurality. ofseparator rollers disposed in said frame for separating webs of paperdepending from said rolls, a guide roller situated in the lower forwardpart of the frame for aligning said webs in superposed relation afterpassing through said separator rollers, gravity operated means forforming said webs into a freely swinging loop comprising a rod suspendedbelow said guide roller by cords attached to the ends of said rod, and aloose fitting flanged idler roller carriedby said rod under which saidwebs pass.

3. In a device of the character described, a

frame comprising upright members for support-,

a rod under which said webs pass.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with'atypewritin'g machine having a laterally moving carriage, of a pluralityof rolls of paper for supplying a continuous multiple ply web to saidcarriage, gravity operated means eflective between said rolls and saidmachine for unwinding said web from said rolls comprising a weighted barprovided with a loose fitting flanged roller arranged to overlie saidweb to form a loop thereof and retain the respective webs in superposedrelation.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with atypewriting machine having a laterally moving carriage, of a pluralityof rolls of paper for supplying a continuous multiple ply web to saidcarriage, gravity operated means effective between said rolls and saidmachine for unwinding said web from said rolls, comprising a weightedbar suspended below said carriage and said rolls, a loose fittingflanged roller carried by said bar arranged to overlie said web to forma loop thereof and retain the respective webs in superposed relation.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with atypewriting machine having a laterally moving carriage, of a source forsupplying a continuous multiple ply web to said carriage, means adaptedto cooperate with the mechanism of said carriage for drawing web fromsaid source and to guide it so that the respective webs feed into thecarriage in uniform superposed relation, said means comprising a rodsuspended from a support by cords so as to rest normally below saidsource and said carriage; a loose fitting flanged tube free to skew,rotate, or move endwise on said rod, and adapted to overlie said webbetween said source and said carriage to form the web into a loop freeto swing with the motion of the carriage.

7. In a device of the character'described, the combination with atypewriting machine having a laterally moving carriage, of a source forsupplying a continuous multiple ply web to said carriage, means adaptedto cooperate with the mechanism of said carriage for drawing web fromsaid source and to guide said web into the carriage with the respectiveplies in uniform superposed relation, said means comprising a rodsuspended by flexible means from a support so as to rest normally belowsaid source and said carriage; a loose fitting flanged tube free toskew, rotate ormove endwise on said rod, and adapted to overlie said webbetween said source and said carriage to form the web into a loop freeto swing with the motion'of the carriage.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with atypewriting machine having a laterally moving carriage, of a source forsupplying a continuous multiple ply web to said carriage, gravityoperated means adapted to cooperate with the mechanism of said carriagefor drawing web from said source and to guide said web intothe carriagewith the respective plies in uniform superposed relation, said meanscomprising a weighty rod suspended by flexible means from a support soas to rest normally below said source and said carriage; a loose fittingflanged tube free to skew, rotate, and move endwise-on said rod, saidtube being adapted to overlie said web between said source and saidcarriage, in order to draw down said web and form it-into a loop free toswing according to the movement of the carriage.

9. In a device of the character described, a frame comprising uprightmembers for supporting a plurality of rolls of paper, a plurality ofseparator rollers disposed in said frame for separating webs of paperdepending from said rolls, a guide roller situated in the lower forwardpart of the frame for aligning said webs'in superposed relation afterpassing through said separator rollers, gravity operated means forforming said webs into a freely swinging loop, comprising a rodsuspended below said guide roller from a support by cords attached tothe ends of said rod, a loose fitting tube carried by said rod underwhich said webs pass, said tube being free to skew, rotate or moveendwise on said rod.

HARRY M. BIELE.

